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Editor's Notes
Fred Showker,
Editor/Publisher, User Group Network News
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April, 2002
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In this issue:
- 01 Long wait for Xorcized Photoshop is over...
- 02 Photoshop Splat!
- 03 Will the iPod replace the Palm?
- 04 But wait... there's more:
- 05 High quality, royalty free music online
- 06 New Detailed Maps of Central Asia Available
- 07 Vector images in video
- 08 College: Majoring in Virus Detection and Cyber Attacks
- 09 Maryland IT Consultants Work to Ban Junk E-Mail
- 10 Time to upgrade that old Mac?
- 11 This Old Mouse: Fragmentation on Large Drives
- Long wait for Xorcized Photoshop is over...
- - Number 7 is here -- and along with interface changes, all new image editing tools, and higher memory requirements comes the usual Adobe feature insanity.
Most important to most people, is PS 7.0's much needed OS/X support, multi-processor support and interoperability with other native Adobe applications. But those aren't very glamorous consumer purchase perks so just as you expected there are lots of additions to the PS toolset, brushes and effects.
One of my favorites is the new File Browser lets users locate, organize and visually manage images, as well as view EXIF information from digital cameras like dates, exposure settings and so forth. (Takes some of the sting off OS/X file management shortcomings, and brings in some of our favorite features we've come to love in GraphicsConverter)
I think the $149 upgrade will be worth it for serious Photoshop users -- for the OS/X compatibility if not for the new features. Keep in mind, there will be glitches so you may want to wait for version 7.5 which will probably be announced in January, 2003. If you're not a registered user, and not all that serious about your Photoshopping, rather than the $600 to $700 price tag, take a good look at Elements instead. More on PS7 will be posted at the web site when the Adobe press embargo is lifted. - Thanks to Joyce Evans for letting us look over her shoulder while she works on her new Photoshop 7 book ... Watch for continuing and expanded coverage at: http://www.user-groups.net/
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- Photoshop Splat!
- - Our great friends at Alien Skin Software have done it again! SPLAT! is a powerful and unusual filter set for Photoshop and other image editors that packs a lot of image effects into a small, inexpensive software package.
__ Splat! combines frames, textures, edges, borders, mosaics, and more with the award-winning interface of Eye Candy in an all new, affordable plug-in. Digital photographers, graphic designers, Web designers, and digital artists can set their images apart using the stunning effects of Splat! Add mattes and frames to any photo or other rectangular selection. (It actually includes Dover's Art Nouveau collection, as well as traditional wood and metal frames, mattes, and other realistic frames such as grommets and pushpins. Resurface adds high-resolution surface texture to any object, selection, or composition. Edges adds versatile, scalable, decorative edge effects to any graphic. Fill Stamp fills any selection with familiar objects. (See our full review!) Users simply choose from over 100 stamp collections including leaves, buttons, coins, food, and flowers, then scale the objects to fit, and apply. This short review only scratches the surface -- you need to see our full review in DT&G. Splat! is carbonized for OS X on the Macintosh and is available for both Mac and Windows for just $99. - We always get the best news from J.B. Popplewell , Alien Skin's "secret weapon" -- file this under: Graphics, painting, image editing, photoshop, canvas, painter ... Watch for our review, or head on over to http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/SPLAT/
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- Will the iPod replace the Palm?
- - While Palm computing offers a world of features and capabilities, the one thing it doesn't offer is voluminous storage. Most of Palm's gizmos are basically window dressings to sell the product, when the majority of users are primarily interested just in the contacts and reminders.
Now, Power-On has released a free NowPak module that lets Now Up-to-Date and Contact users quickly and easily put their important contact data on any iPod running the new iPod 1.1 software -- and it looks like they're going after the Palm jugular.
With the NowPak for iPod , users can seamlessly transfer contact data from Now Contact to the iPod. To download contacts, users just mount the iPod on their Macintosh desktop (running Mac OS X 10.2 or later) and then simply run the NowPak software, which creates a contact file on the iPod listing all the contact information that has been transferred.
We do not know if the software is capable of playing an MP3 file upon a certain date/time event, however, imagine how wonderful it would be to load voice announcements (in MP3 format) to your iPod, and with Up-to-Date & Contact Version 4.1, play those announcements at the proper time. If Apple has their heads screwed on right, it shouldn't be long before iPod has voice input, a small play-back speaker and even an infrared port. (Why not let iPod users share songs?) Once that happens, I'll buy one.
I've been happily using the Olympus Digital voice recorder in place of a palm with great success, and now they've got voice recognition, smart media memory, and MP3 playback support. If the iPod migrates in this direction, then it moves up to a much wider market appeal for business as well as rich, spoiled skateboarders.
This new product from Power-On certainly is pushing the iPod in the right direction. The suggested retail price of Up-to-Date & Contact Version 4.1, filling needs on both computer and PDA. - ... More info is at: http://www.poweronsoftware.com/products/nudc/
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- But wait... there's more:
- - Okay, you've got your MP3 music player, your contact manager, your scheduler, now all you need is a workable, flexible database for your iPod.
Enter ProVUE's PanoramaiPod Organizer -- which allows your iPod to be used as a data organizer. The iPod's jog wheel makes it easy to quickly locate any of the data stored on the device. Store and access all kinds of Data -- which can be entered and edited in the Panorama iPod Organizer itself or can be imported from other databases. The nice idea is the Panorama iPod Organizer requires no special software on the iPod, and the organizer information itself is extremely compact: 1,000 records will use less than 0.1% of the space on the iPod's 5 gigabyte hard drive. Download Panorama iPod Organizer for an introductory price of $19.95. - ... This one is located at: http://www.ipodorganizer.com/
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- High quality, royalty free music online
- - Here's a web site that offers royalty free music especially made for web developers. What makes it different from conventional music licensing services is that these people deliver the music in a series of short seamless loops, low on bandwidth but high on quality, and tailor made for use in web design environments such as Flash, Shockwave or embedding on web pages. They have a selection of free sounds & music, with a lot more available to purchase online. If you make a purchase, you can choose whether to download the sounds from the web, or get it delivered on a CDROM. The music catalogue at www.shockwave-sound.com includes an impressive collection of real orchestra recorded classical music, techno, rock, jazz, funk, easy listening, family & leisure, romance & nature, acoustic and electronic. You can browse and preview sounds so you get to hear everything before you make a purchase. - Bjorn Lynne Art and Creative: Gallery, portfolio, techniques, art products ... Check it out at: http://www.shockwave-sound.com
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- New Detailed Maps of Central Asia Available
- - Map Resources just released detailed maps of 10 South Asian countries and former Soviet Republics. Maps are available for: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All maps are fully editable, layered, high resolution Adobe Illustrator files. You can preview new country maps, and other new at Map Resources (formerly Cartesia Software) -- there you can also find a free sample map! For information, call 800-334-4291 or 609-397-1611. - Barbara Fordyce DTP: Publishing, printing, output ... This one really deserves a look, at: http://www.mapresources.com
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- Vector images in video
- - Flix 2.0. is an amazingly easy to use software that encodes video into Flash, the most popular media format on the web, in fact, Flix 1.0 was the first software to author Flash video, and convert standard video into vectorized video. Flix also makes it very simple to insert links into video, create video banner ads and e-mails, and deploy customized media players. - Thanks to Roger Colby for sending this in under Graphics, video, multimedia ... You can check it out at: http://www.wildform.com/
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- College: Majoring in Virus Detection and Cyber Attacks
- - University of Advancing Computer Technology (UACT) TEMPE, Ariz. has announced the first center of higher learning in the country to offer a Bachelor of Science Degree in Software Engineering with an emphasis in Network Security and Defense. According to a recent issue of Computer Economics, businesses in the United States spent more than $10.7 billion in repairing problems associated with computer viruses prior to last summer's Nimba outbreak -- so you see an instant market for this profession.
__ UACT offers four-year accredited Bachelor Degree programs in multimedia, animation and video, and networking and software engineering, technology commerce, game programming and game design. The University - which currently has an enrollment of more than 1,100 students -- also offers Master Degree programs in technology management and technology research. - Thanks to Jeff Lujan for posting this one to the News-Serve.net under: School, Education, IT, security, virus protection ... More info is at: http://www.uact.edu/
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- Maryland IT Consultants Work to Ban Junk E-Mail
- - Intent on stopping spam - email spam, that is - two executives of a Gaithersburg e-business consultancy testified last week before a Maryland House of Delegates committee supporting a bill to ban unscrupulous marketers from flooding Marylanders' email accounts with unsolicited commercial email messages, or "spam." NSI Partners' Anthony Kirlew and Donald Baker praised legislators' desire to protect Marylanders from receiving a growing torrent of junk email, while calling for amendments that would make the bill - if passed by the General Assembly - the nation's toughest anti-spam law.
From XPress News dot com. - Thanks to people like Donald L. Baker we might be gaining on the fight against Spam, UCE -- and better security ... Here's the full story with links: http://www.xpresspress.com/news/nsipartners_030702.html
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- Time to upgrade that old Mac?
- - Sonnet has dropped the price on the Encore/ZIF G4 500 processor upgrade to $299.95 (was $399.95). You can drop one of these puppies into most any PPC including the beige G3 All-in-one, Desktop, Minitower and the Macintosh Server G3. This nearly doubles some of their clock speeds. - ... Here's where to go: http://www.sonnettech.com/product/encore.html
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- This Old Mouse: Fragmentation on Large Drives
- - This month we answer a letter from a reader concerning large hard drives and defragmenting
http://www.user-groups.net/Mac/0204.html
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That wraps it up for April...
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You can find these and lots of other items for use in your local UG newsletter at: http://www.User-Groups.net/
___ I encourage you to contribute, and add your voice to the UGNN Newsletter, feel free to contact me any time.
Take care, we'll see'ya next issue.
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Fred Showker
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Editor-in-Chief, UGN User Group Network News Service
http://www.User-Groups.net/news/
As usual we invite YOUR input, comments, suggestions and participation in the original User Group Network, the longest running commercial-free, independent, multi platform user group support organization in the world. ...
http://www.user-groups.net/contact.html
From Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher, User Group Network News: December 15 User Group Network News Service at
http://www.user-groups.net/news/index.html
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NOTICE TO EDITORS: ______________________
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